The Internet is full of stories about smart businesses that have adopted the model often used by the non-profit sector.
In fact, long before there was a Tom’s Shoes, the hipster cause du jour, there were companies like the telephone provider Working Assets that would take a portion of their profits and direct the set-aside funds for charities suggested by consumers.
It worked for a while, but ultimately, most other nonprofits and for-profits just continued along the same path, offering to do good, but often in places far away from one’s community.
Well, that is until the Fubble.
A few months ago, Fubble Entertainment, founded and named by the Emmy-Award winning team of Teresa L. Thome and Patrick W. Ziegler, announced its first project.
Backstage Drama is a new web series created to benefit one of many Grand Rapids community theatres where these two friends and now business partners would meet in the past. (The first two episodes are free!)
“We both have served on area theatrical committees and boards over the years and know firsthand the struggles the arts have experienced,” says Thome. “But Patrick and I also knew that in the area of fund development, if we were going to reach a wider audience about the power of community theatre, we would need a model that was not only going to showcase the good these venues bring to our region, but we would need to bring in cash as well.”
The first five episodes of "Backstage Drama," a "Glee" + "Sopranos" version of a Christopher Guest like-comedy, is the original story of a young man who witnesses a murder in New Jersey and is placed into a witness protection program as a janitor of the community theatre in Grand River, Michigan.
The beauty of this program is that while the actors are people Thome and Ziegler have worked with over the years on paid gigs, the actors understand this labor of love is about honoring the role community theatre fulfills by creating the skill sets many use within their professional lives.
“When I moved back to Grand Rapids after years on both coasts, one of the first things I did was attend a few local productions,” says Ziegler. “I saw
Nine and
The Rocky Horror Picture Show and was simply blown away at the caliber of talent on the various stages around town. I just knew I had to create something to feature this talent.”
In the early stages, the project went through a series of re-writes when the Fubble team brought in Danny Salles, a seasoned industry player. Salles is presently working on the WEtv show "Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best."
“When Danny came to Grand Rapids to work on the production, he was very impressed with our region,” says Thome. “In fact, in one of our West Coast industry meetings he said, ‘When people in Grand Rapids say they are going to do something, they do it!’, which is really kind of cool to get an endorsement like that for our region."
According to Thome and Ziegler, this $9.99 series shot primarily at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre featuring a volunteer cast of more than 70 actors from the area and a crew of more than 75 from the West Michigan film and television community has had a great launch, meaning money is starting to pour in and theatres like our local venues are starting to get checks.
And while their model is not that much different than other popular webisodes out there, their ability to allow you to decide which theatre will be the focus of your charity combined with solid, fun programming is a huge part of their success.
An added bonus for Backstage Drama is that it is garnering a second look from an industry on the other West coast that is warming up to the Fubble Entertainment plan to bring attention to community theatre.
“We recently met with a William Morris agent who had heard of our project and wanted to know more,” says Ziegler. “What they are figuring out is that community theatre is a really big market selling over 86 million tickets each year. When you have a market that big, how can you not resist looking into it further?”
The folks at Fubble know they have to keep pressing on with this type of business model as they set their sights on future projects that will introduce others to their programming.
“We are really excited that we are two students who attended Grand Rapids Community College, met each other, became great friends and then found a way to work together as we created this business,” says Thome. “We also found a way to give back to the community that embraced and nurtured our talent many years ago.”
“This city has such a passion for the arts and for creating something…we wanted to tap into that somehow,” says Zeigler. “We are also discovering as we begin to write checks to theatres not only in Michigan, but in other communities outside of our state, [that] people are really rallying to support community theatre.”
As an added bonus for their efforts, Thome and Zeigler mentioned that their agent in L.A. wants to see celeb guest appearances in the next five episodes, plus they have been invited to be judges at the 2012 Daytime Emmys.
I should also point out that Thome and Ziegler are working on the LaughFest Gala this March with a host of other comics from our region.
As many already know from either living here or having visited, we are a town that prides itself on working together to get things done. And often the subject of our labor performs some good as we innovate. There are worst things we could do with out time.
Maybe Mayor Heartwell needs to replace our city’s motto in light of this and other accomplishments with something like this:
Grand Rapids: We Make It Happen (Here)
The Future Needs All of Us.
Tommy Allen, Lifestyle Editor
Email:
[email protected]
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